Tag - food

 
 

FOOD

Workers prepare processed crickets at Hygente Technology in Shinjo, Yamagata Prefecture, in November.
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Tohoku
Apr 8, 2024
Next-gen protein sources explored as meat replacements in Tohoku
While proponents tout the benefits of edible insects and plant-based meat, getting consumers to change their eating habits remains an uphill task.
Artificial intelligence is peering into restaurant garbage pails and crunching grocery-store data to try to figure out how to send less uneaten food into dumpsters.
BUSINESS / Tech
Apr 6, 2024
AI is spying on the food we throw away
The tech is being used to try to reduce the amount of uneaten food that ends up in dumpsters.
As they prepare lunch boxes, volunteer residents discuss anything from local supermarket offerings to life in the evacuation sites.
JAPAN / Society
Apr 5, 2024
Making lunch boxes for quake victims brings Noto community together
A spirit of camaraderie pervades among volunteer residents as they put together homemade delicacies for neighbors and fellow volunteers.
Kobayashi Pharmaceutical's Tokyo office. An investigation into the cause of the health issues is underway, with partner companies attempting to recall products that could include the batch of beni kōji said to have caused kidney problems.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Apr 4, 2024
Kobayashi Pharma's wide supply chain complicates search for tainted products
Looking at the overall market, one study showed that around 33,000 companies have sold and distributed products using the firm's red yeast rice.
A vehicle where employees from the World Central Kitchen were killed in an Israeli airstrike in Deir Al-Balah, in the central Gaza Strip, on Tuesday
WORLD
Apr 4, 2024
World Central Kitchen chef says Israel targeted his aid workers 'systematically'
Chef Jose Andres said the charity group he founded had clear communication with the Israeli military, which he said knew his aid workers' movements.
Chef Jose Andres (center) and local chefs stir large pots of paella destined for people struggling to find enough to eat in the wake of Hurricane Maria, in San Juan, Puerto Rico, in October 2017.
WORLD / Society
Apr 3, 2024
How Jose Andres and his corps of cooks became leaders in disaster aid
The idea for World Central Kitchen came to Andres in 2010, when he cooked with Haitians who were living in a camp after an earthquake.
Leftover premium-brand chocolate, originally slated for disposal, is made available for purchase at a discount in Tokyo's Chuo Ward on Feb. 15, the day after Valentine's Day.
JAPAN / Society
Apr 3, 2024
Efforts to reduce food waste find support in Japan but still face challenges
Initiatives are being introduced to avoid the waste of seasonal delicacies, but challenges such as entrenched commercial customs persist.
Warnings have been issued for people to safely use household appliances, including gas stoves.
JAPAN
Apr 3, 2024
Warnings issued for household safety in Japan's new fiscal year
The guidelines aim to raise awareness on product safety and mitigate potential risks surrounding household appliances.
A worker stands on a pile of rice sacks as the other worker carries a sack of rice at the warehouse in Jakarta on Feb.13. Dry weather fueled by El Nino has led to a rice shortage and sent prices to record highs.
ASIA PACIFIC
Apr 1, 2024
As El Nino bites, Indonesians struggle with record-high rice prices
Rice has been an integral part of Indonesian history and culture since ancient times, and is one of the country's most important agricultural commodities.
The giant green signs of this supermarket chain can be slightly intimidating, but chefs of all stripes are welcome in Gyomu's aisles.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Mar 31, 2024
In praise of Gyomu Super, a gem of Japanese grocery shopping
With a name that translates to something like “commercial supermarket,” you might assume Gyomu is just a restaurant supply chain.
A man works at a supermarket in Tokyo last month. Price increases backed by higher ingredient costs have started to come back due to unstable weather, Teikoku Databank has said.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 30, 2024
Japan to see prices of 2,806 food items raised in April
The figure exceeds 2,000 for the first time since October last year, though down 48.1% from April last year, when prices increased for 5,404 items.
Kobayashi Pharmaceutical President Akihiro Kobayashi (second from left) and other executives apologize for the deaths and other health damage associated with its dietary supplements, in the city of Osaka on Friday.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Mar 29, 2024
Kobayashi Pharma says blue mold compound may be cause of health problems
The beni kо̄ji red yeast rice dietary supplements are now linked to five deaths and 114 hospitalizations.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Mar 29, 2024
Kobayashi Pharma scandal reignites debate on ‘functional food’ labels
The labels have been criticized for years over the lack of sufficient scientific proof of safety and efficacy accompanying their use.
JAPAN / Science & Health / EXPLAINER
Mar 28, 2024
What we know so far about Kobayashi Pharma's supplement deaths
The Osaka-based drugmaker is finding itself under further scrutiny as the search to pinpoint the cause of the deaths continues.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Mar 27, 2024
Concerns mount after two deaths linked to Kobayashi Pharma supplement
A government probe is being conducted to establish whether the supplement, which contains beni kо̄ji red fermented rice, led to the deaths.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Mar 24, 2024
Osaka drugmaker recalls dietary supplements linked to kidney disorders
The Osaka-based drugmaker announced Friday that, of the six hospitalized, two suffered symptoms serious enough to require temporary dialysis.
A closed McDonald's in Tokyo on Friday after a tech issue forced outlets of the burger chain to shut around the world.
BUSINESS
Mar 16, 2024
Big Mac goes Big Tech — with a few hiccups
McDonald's reliance on tech backfired on Friday when an outage forced it to shut stores around the world.
A closed McDonald's in Nikko, Tochigi Prefecture, amid an outage that affected stores in Japan and abroad on Friday. The chain resumed operations on Saturday at almost all of its outlets in Japan.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 16, 2024
McDonald’s Japan resumes operations after outage
The recovery comes after McDonald’s was hit by a system outage that appears to have started in the Asia-Pacific region Friday.
People stand in front of a temporarily closed McDonald's in Tokyo's Shimbashi district on Friday as the chain experienced widespread tech issues.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 15, 2024
McDonald's suffers widespread tech outage in Japan and abroad
Many McDonald's stores in Japan stopped taking in-person and mobile customer orders because of the system disruption.
Women and babies at the Zamzam displacement camp, close to El Fasher in North Darfur, Sudan, in January.
WORLD / Society
Mar 9, 2024
Millions of Sudanese go hungry as war disrupts food supply
The number of Sudanese facing emergency levels of hunger — one stage before famine — has more than tripled in a year to almost 5 million.

Longform

Professional cleaner Hirofumi Sakurai takes a moment to appreciate some photographs in a Gotanda apartment whose occupant died alone.
The last cleanup: Life and death in a lonely Japan